Today’s Chess Problem 10/06/11
on 10/06/2011 at 06:31 PM
Chris, after you said that you had a cook I spent more than an hour looking at this problem, most of the time spent looking at 1. Ng7 that looks like a nice move but after black plays b-c6+ it gets complicated and goes on forever. Anyway I didn’t solve the problem. After looking more at the line starting with 1.RxB I think it might lead to a win. But combined with my line and played this way:
1.RXB RXR
2.Rg7 Rxg7
3.PxR+ Now after black gets out of check by say ... KxP white plays
4.QxRWhite is many points up and if he can keep black from Queening it should go for the win but far to many moves down the road for me to say with certainty.
Question? Can you recommend a software download that can solve problems like this? I used to have one called Chess Master but on a floppy disk. I found the disk but then blew up the hard drive on my linux machine updating Ubuntu and none of my other comps read them. I am going to replace the drive in a week or so but there must be something out there running on Windows you could recommend.
I could do a Google search but if you have a suggestion I will try it first. And of course never use it till after I solve or fail to solve one of your problems.
Glad it wasn’t just me and my poor playing. I kept coming up with ideas for this one and they all fell apart after 4 or 5 moves.
I have no idea what a ‘cook’ is, but given yesterday’s ‘pin’ exercise I realized that white needs to eliminate the black queen and perhaps go pawn hunting before heading for the win. This, once again, seemed non-deterministic: few if any of white’s moves FORCES black to do A, B, or C, and thus the outcome is random.
I think an equally viable solution could start with baiting the black queen by moving white’s middle of the board rook g5 - d5. If queen takes rook it costs black the queen. If not, then it’s pawn killing time. In the same vein, a response to some weak set-up move by white could be for black to use rook f7 to take out the 2 white pawns.
Whatever. This game is a mess as shown.
Oh, and why is 5. Qxg2 a mate? Only if black has moved a rook to g7 or g8 ahead of time, or if the game went some other way completely, allowing black’s bishop to survive and move e8 - e6, yet with white’s g5 rook somehow out of the action.
Like I said, this one is a mess.
Wes, I think you answered yourself.
White is many points up
Yeah, connected passed pawns that have advanced to the third and fourth rank. White will have to ‘give back’ to stop them from Queening.
Drew, like some many other terms a ‘cook’ is slang for ‘the book is wrong and here’s why’.
Back to you Wes:
Can you recommend a software download that can solve problems like this?
Actually, I’m unaware of any software that will solve problems like this.
If you are a Mac user, try ExaChess. That’s what I use. Otherwise give ChessBase or Fritz a try. You’ll have to Google those. I don’t know if they offer a ‘lite’ version. I do know that ExaChess does.
Oh, and why is 5. Qxg2 a mate?
What can White do? Black’s Queen is backed up by the Black rook on g8. Can’t take, can’t interpose, can’t flee. Set it up, and play it out.
Ok, I see it. I own no board so I have to ‘set it up’ in my head. Even if white blocks with the queen, e8-e4, it’s only an extra turn with the same conclusion. Black still has the rook at g8 and white never gets a chance to take it with the pawn and promote.
Gotta get you a board Drew.
Go here: http://www.uscfsales.com/category_s/67.htm
I’m serious about this Drew. As you know, I’m unemployed. But I’ve enough savings to stand for a chess set. Get a decent ‘regulation’ set. You can use them in tournaments. Or at your local chess club.
I like the ‘triple-weighted’ sets. Plus, as a life member of the USCF, I always get the discount.
Let me know…
